The old fable of Androcles and the Lion -- or in some versions, the Mouse and the Lion -- highlights an unusual amity between two beings who are usually considered predator and prey. In the story, the lion has been crippled by a thorn stuck in his paw which he could not reach, see, or remove. The prey, whether mouse or man, sees the problem, overcomes his fear of the predator, and offers to remove the thorn. The wound heals, and the lion is ever thankful to his unlikely physician.

  (READ MORE)

Much buzz has been going around the diabetes community about the recent announcement of the JDRF/Animas partnership to develop a "first generation artificial pancreas", and rightly so. The ability to eat like a "normal person", to not have to worry about debilitating highs and lows, to be able to sleep without fear of not waking up again... these are things which are, quoth Hamlet, "devoutly to be wish'd". That the road between here and there is not so simple a passage as we might hope, is well-known, and much littered with papers sporting words like "cure", "encapsulation", "transplant", "gene therapy", and -- of course -- "artificial pancreas". (READ MORE)

I have not been compliant with my diabetes protocol for several months.  I haven't been testing, I haven't been watching what I eat or exercising.  I've even been eating straight carb snacks - when I'm supposed to "never eat carbs alone! "

I can "get away" with this once in a while because I'm early in Type 2.  But today I read a story that  pulled me up short. 

People with diabetes are 15 times more likely to have a lower limb amputation than those without the disease.  Yes, FIFTEEN times more likely.  And then, 70% of the people who have amputations are dead within 5 years.

  (READ MORE)